The Appetite of Travelers
by Chisis
Summary: Learning to deal with the new Seeker is easier for some than for others. For Kahlan, it's another traveler on the journey, another Seeker to watch out for. For Cara, it's something else entirely.
1. Hunger and thoughts

"How is it that you can eat so much and not gain weight?" Leo looked at Zedd as the man grabbed another leg of chicken. "I thought my cousins ate a lot, but you never stop. You've had what, five meals today?"

Zedd narrowed his eyes at the young man. "Two. And the other three were barely a snack,"

"A snack that took the rest of our bread," Cara muttered from behind them. Her unhappiness was made more clearly holding up an empty sack and shaking out the crumbs. "…and apples…"

"It's just not possible!" Leo said.

"You don't know what's possible and what isn't," Zedd retorted. "My hunger is not one of the mysteries of the world that you should be worrying about,"

"Is not that I'm worried, its just strange to watch someone like you…"

Zedd stopped dead in his chewing, his eyes not blinking as he stared at Leo. "Like me…what?"

Leo gave a weak grin and straighten his torso. "Um…like you, because you're…well…" He wasn't sure if he should continue or not. Already, it felt as though he had just dug himself a shallow grave. "You're…uh…not of a particularly…you're…age…um," And the grave was made wider.

Zedd curled his lips into a not-so-sweet smile at him. "What are you trying to say, Seeker?"

"That older…nuh, no, what I want to say, um, is…you…" Dig that grave, dig down deeper.

"You're old!" Cara slapped the empty sack down in front of Zedd and Leo, who jumped back at her sudden presence. "And therefore you shouldn't be eating as much as you do. Which I happen to agree with. Now because of you, I have to hunt. Again." A familiar ring to the air became more prominent as she took one agiel in her hand and grabbed her bow with the other.

"For you information, age has nothing to do with appetite," Zedd said. "I've always been slim, for one."

"You're going hunting?" Leo stood up and watched Cara as she walked around the fire to get to her bag of arrows.

"No, I was just going to waste my arrows with target practice," She picked up her bag and spread the arrows out. The rain hadn't been much this morning, but wet arrows was something Lord Richard had warned her about. And with the cheap bags they had gotten, she had to make sure the arrows were good.

"Secondly, magic takes up a lot of the body's energy, so that's why we have to eat more," Zedd stuffed another bite of chicken in his mouth. "You won't ever find a fat Wizard of the First Order! Our magic eats up everything,"

"You want some help?" Leo asked as nonchalantly as he could. "With hunting?"

Cara whipped her hair out of her face to glare at him. "I don't know. You want to be my target?" She turned back to examining the arrows, picking each one up and looking at it from its head to its feathers.

"Well…no," He walked around the fire and then crouched down next to her, making an effort to avoid her eyes. "But I know a bit about hunting, and fixing arrows and arrowheads."

"A bit about hunting?"

He grinned softy but tilted his face away so that she couldn't see him. "Well, I'm no expert. But if you came across something big, like a bear or a lion..."

Suddenly, the agiel appeared in front of her. A calm smile came over her as she waved it back and forth by its chain. "I think I can take care of…lions or bears myself, if that were to happen."

His eyes flicked over to the agiel briefly as it swung. This time, though, he wasn't going to it dissuade him.

"But what if there are chipmunks?" he whispered, glancing her way. "Tiny, tiny creatures which that thing," He pointed to the agiel, "couldn't scare away."

"Then I'll kick them away,"

"What if they're ravenous chipmunks? That hook their tiny claws into you and fed on your ankles?"

"Ravenous chipmunks?" She looked at him partly, with one eyebrow cocked. "You're a joke, you know that?"

He smiled at her and picked up an arrow. "So does that mean I can come?"

The agiel swung back and forth and cast shadows across her face. Her nostrils flared out as she chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking.

For all that she knew, he could be a horrible hunter and make so much noise as to scatter the animals away for a good hour. Unlike Lord Richard, she knew she didn't have the patience to teach him how to be quiet. Nothing would be worse then getting out into the woods and only come back with a rabbit or two for the next day. And with unfamiliar terrain up ahead, who knew when their next meal would come?

_Then again_, she thought, _maybe this horse-lover could be of some use…_

"Fine," Cara sighed. She picked up the remaining arrows and tossed them into the bag again. "You can hold the arrows."

"Great," Leo replied. They both stood up and he swung the bag over his shoulder. As soon as he had the bag, Cara was already marching away from camp and Leo had to hurry to grab the Sword of Truth and trot after her.

"AND thirdly, my dear fellows, crossing the midlands and following the compass certainly exhausts someone, and its better to eat the food then to let it spoil!" Zedd called after them as they disappeared into the forest.

"Zedd, give it a rest," Kahlan said, not bothering to look up from cleaning her knives.

She was leaning against the slab of rock that was close to the entrance of the cave they were using for a shelter. It would only fit two people inside, uncomfortably of course, but it would do for now. The forest was thinning out and these rock caves and formations were becoming more frequent.

"Well, they should at least listen to my answers. Tomorrow I just get asked again why I eat so much," he muttered softly as he continued eating.

"hm,"

Kahlan had been keeping herself busy and out of any conversation by cleaning her knives over and over. Her hands were restless and needed the work, and though it wasn't much it kept them busy. Her mind, on the other hand, was saturated with thoughts to the point that a headache had developed.

They were traveling far each day, but she couldn't help the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her something bad was going to happen. In the mental map she had of the New World and the Old World, she knew they were getting closer to the border, but the reality seemed so much farther away. Even with the guidance of the compass and Zedd's cloud readings there was still much that could go wrong. Richard's trail was becoming more obstructed by nature's forces of wind and rain and the longer they took, the less likely they would find him in time.

_In time_, she thought. _In time for what? _

They had a new Seeker. So the search for the Stone and the fight with the Keeper could still go on. But then why would the compass lead them back to the old Seeker, to Richard? It didn't make much sense, unless Richard's powers would come into play, and she knew he couldn't have mastered them in such short time. So what was the reason?

"What is the reason?" Zedd's voice broke through her thoughts.

Kahlan snapped up, her hands stopped moving over her knives. "What?"

"The reason that whenever I have a Seeker, he's always distracted by something." Zedd finished the final piece of the chicken leg and tossed the bone into the fire.

She couldn't help it, a smile formed at Zedd's distress. She put her hand discreetly by her mouth to keep it from him.

"I don't know what you mean, Leo has just became a Seeker."

"Yes, and already he is distracted!" Zedd shook his head in disbelief. "And by a Mord Sith, no less. Seekers do not seem to care for common women, do they?"

Kahlan didn't know how to reply to that. At the moment, the statement seemed true enough.

"Bags. Hopefully I will be able to hold his concentration long enough to teach him how to use that sword properly. He's a fast learner, so it might be easier then it was with Richard. You had to almost pound the lessons into his head,"

"Richard was plenty fast."

"Unless you were around." Zedd replied. "Then you had to pound him,"

She felt her stomach flip but controlled her face not to reveal anything. "I wasn't that much of a distraction. At least, not at first."

Zedd rolled his eyes and gave a odd disgusting snort. "Please, Kahlan. From the first day he met you, you were a distraction."

"The first day I met him I put a knife up to his throat."

"Fine. The second day, then. Or the third. Either way, I would catch him looking at you and you, none the wiser, would do something that only women do and then I would have to smack him across the head with a stick to make him listen to me,"

_Something that only women do?_ And what in the name of spirits was that?

"The way you smiled or the way you walked." He answered simply.

"Surely you can't blame my smile or my walk on making Richard distracted? I wasn't trying to make him notice me,"

"Which is the exact quality that made him notice you. Your own presence."

It was a bit odd to hear this from Zedd. That she had suspected this much before didn't make her stomach stop flipping around. And to really know how quickly Richard had fallen for her…well, that just made her a bit uncomfortable. The only redeeming positive that she could find was that Zedd didn't know _her_ feelings at the time, and how quickly she noticed Richard's looks.

_And it's better he never know…_

She needed to move the conversation away from her. "Well, even with lessons, Richard learned how to be a Seeker on his own as well. He trusted in himself. Maybe we should trust Leo like that as well,"

Instead of agreeing, the wizard shook his head. "Even when Richard disobeyed, he still had you by his side should he need guidance. With Cara, things are a bit different."

This was perplexing, and while she could see problems, she couldn't see how Leo would be affected. She tried to grasp at what Zedd was getting at.

"You mean because she is a Mord Sith?"

"No, though that is still something to be aware of." Zedd started to put some large rocks near or on the fire to warm them. "Cara is still uncovering her humanity and just beginning to realize that she doesn't have to be a Mord Sith all the time. She hasn't had the time to process her separate selfs into one,"

Now Kahlan saw the problem.

"So if Leo starts to fall for Cara and looks to her like Richard looked to me, then--"

"Then Leo may be in trouble." Zedd was digging up some dirt and laid the warm rocks from the fire in the small ditch he created. He patted the dirt over them, laid his sleeping bag over that and then moved his body on top of everything.

"Cara only truly trusts Richard right now, and to push her when she isn't ready could be a mistake. She's made progress, yes, but how much…no one really knows, expect maybe Richard, and he's not around,"

Kahlan remembered hearing Cara's laugh for the first time. _Then again, perhaps there are some things that even Richard can't bring out in Cara. Some things you just have to learn by yourself…_

"Ahh, nothing like a warm ground to sleep on." He said as he stretched his long limbs out. It looked as though he was about to fall asleep.

"But," he said as he closed his eyes, "You and I are still here to help, and even with distractions, we will do our best with our new Seeker,"

"Yes, we will," Even as she said the words, Kahlan wasn't thinking about the new Seeker.

It was pointless to wait for Cara and Leo to get back, and they certainly didn't need the firelight to guide them. So she put the fire out and crawled into the cave with her bag. It was dry and hard, but the smallness of the cave made her feel as though she had a little privacy whereas outside with Zedd she'd have none.

_I want you back_, she thought, and felt more than a bit treacherous for it. But at the same time, she couldn't help it. _I just want you here, Richard. Just for one moment. _

She pulled a blanket over her frame and shut her eyes.

_Soon._

_

* * *

_Disclaimer: I do not own LOTS characters.


	2. Hunting and thoughts

It was dusk now, the sun had just gone down and there still remained a small sliver of time before darkness. It was the time to be alert for both the hunter and the hunted. The terrain would hid the animals as best it could, under rocks and tall grass, between some old broken trees.

But that didn't matter to Cara.

No, for she was the ultimate hunter. Stead fast in her approach, quiet as a hawk as it flew, with sharp arrows and the painful agiel to make sure she caught something tonight.

_Hide all you want, but it won't matter._

She held the bow relaxed in her grip and scanned the area around her.

Low branches and grass along with odd rocks jutting out from the ground. The forest was thinning out as they moved closer to Lord Richard, which worried Cara for she knew nothing about hunting in desert should they find themselves there. But at least then this ridiculous job of gathering food fall to Zedd instead of her. There was a silver lining after all.

She wasn't yet sure about how much she actually liked hunting. She had a natural talent for it apparently, or at least that's what Lord Richard told her. And there were aspects of hunting she enjoyed. The excitement of the chase, for one, especially if it were a big animal; the cornering of the animal; and the best part of it all, the killing it with her bow and arrow. If nothing else, she took pride in her mastery of the new weapon, and each time she killed a boar or a pheasant it only made her better.

Yet, despite all this, she hated the waiting part of hunting.

"It's boring," she had told Lord Richard. "We're just going to sit here until… what? A pig dies in front of us?"

He sighed, in that way that told her he was getting frustrated with her. It was strange, but every time he did that it only made her want to annoy him more. It was a fun game, until he got the better of her.

"Hunting is more than just killing," he responded, trying to 'teach' her. "It's a way to learn respect. To respect the animals and the land and the people who hunt."

"Why would I care about that? People already respect me."

"No, they fear you. And this respect isn't about them, it's about you. You're the one who needs to learn it. So respect my wishes, and shut up and listen to me,"

At least she could stand to hunt with Lord Richard. He may have been the most annoying teacher, but once they were actually on the hunt he was an excellent partner. He was never more calm and assured in his actions then when they were tracking something. Whether looking for marks on trees or moving upwind, he gave her short worded directions or silent hand gestures, nothing more. Even she found herself looking to him for approval on which direction to take when they had cornered a group of pheasants or boars.

But this new Seeker, this horse-lover Leo, oh he was another matter entirely.

As soon as the campsite was out of hearing distance, she immediately regretted her decision to allow the new Seeker to accompany her with hunting. Unlike Lord Richard, who didn't speak much once they were hunting, Leo felt the need to fill the silence with questions and remarks.

"So, Cara," he said as they walked through the forest. "What are we looking for?"

"Whatever we find,"

"Right, right."

He trailed behind her and there was barely a breath of silence before he started talking again. "You know, I'm a better hunter on top of a horse. Really. I can shoot a arrow and hit a buck running while on horseback, clear as day,"

"My," Cara drawled.

"Yeah. My mum would always brag about that to random strangers who'd come to get their horses' shoes. It's from her side of the family where the legend comes from, the one that said someday someone in our family would become a Seeker. She's been annoying me with that story since I was a kid, and now…" He shook his head, "unbelievable, ya know?"

"Yes, for now you've managed to annoy me with that story," she replied.

Leo grinned at her. "She always said that it'd be me. I never believed her, but she insisted. 'Live your life honorably, for one day you'll have the Sword of Truth in your hands,' she'd say. Whenever I got into a scrap or trouble, she turn to me and smack me, all the while saying, 'no Seeker would ever act that way, you hear? Now get!'"

He gave a small laugh at the memory. Bags, did he ever stop?

"Well, momma's boy," Cara turned to him, "Now you're all grown up with a big sword. Congratulations,"

At this, Leo coughed, but he didn't step down from her glare. "Not just any sword. The Sword of Truth," He held the sword parallel to the ground, the mental still shiny since he'd cleaned it this morning. "I'm going to master this sword, no matter what it takes,"

"As long as your morning practices aren't interrupted by assassins or soldiers," Cara mused, "It should only take you, what? Two years? Three?"

"The rumors of the Seeker have reached even my far away ears." Leo stepped in closer to her. " The Seeker only appeared a year or so back, and from what I hear, he didn't have the Sword long before he was named. If he can master it, then so can I,"

"Lord Rahl," her tongue clicked, "isn't just anyone,"

"And now, neither am I." Leo stared down at her, amusement around his mouth but with seriousness in his eyes. It was such a strange combination to see so plainly in one's face. She wasn't sure which one was he's true emotion, and that bothered her.

She turned away from him first and starting walking again. "The animals aren't going to kill themselves," He moved a few paces in front so that he could clear a small path from the tall grass, his back turned toward her.

"You said that Lord Rahl isn't just anyone. So," He took a swipe with the sword, snapping low branches and cutting grass, "What's he like then?"

"Why are you asking?" She narrowed her eyes at him, playing up her smile. "Feeling inadequate?"

He gave a soft 'ha'. "No. I'm just wondering what he's like. After all, we heading in his direction, so I'm going to meet him. Might be good to know a little bit about him beforehand so I don't say anything stupid,"

"Why care about what Lord Rahl thinks of you? You're the Seeker now," The word Seeker rolled off her tongue with a snarky tone, something Leo didn't miss.

"Well, because _you_ care what he thinks," he said, taking another swipe with his sword.

He listened carefully to her footsteps, and was tempted to turn around when she didn't reply right away. But he didn't, instead concentrating his eyes in front of him and looking for the perfect hunting spot.

Cara's tongue scrapped along the roof of her mouth as she stepped in behind Leo. It meant something to him to know about Lord Richard simply because she knew Lord Richard. It wasn't because of Kahlan's constant sad eyes or Zedd's obvious joy at the thought of them being reunited. She was his reason for wanting to know about Lord Richard. That was something she hadn't prepared for.

What was there to tell him though? "Lord Richard is Lord Richard." she stated simply.

"Yeah, I get that. But what kind of a man is he? What's he like?"

"He's…" Cara held her words, unsure of how much she wanted to say, "He's direct in what he does."

"Direct? That's the best word you can come up with to describe a Seeker?"

The way he glanced back at her suggested that he was setting up a challenge. I like games, she thought.

"Lord Rahl is veracious."

"Oh, that's a good word,"

"He's a man who will not let others get in the way of his beliefs, at the risk to his own name and friends. He may not lead the D'haran people yet, but he's born to do so," She'd never revealed this thought to anyone before.

Leo nodded. "Is that why you protect him? Because he's the future leader of D'Hara?"

No, she thought. "Yes," she said.

"So then, why aren't you with him right now? Doesn't the future king need to be looked out for?"

Yes, he does, and he was a fool to send me away. "I do not question Lord Rahl's orders. I merely obey them."

"So, did he send you then with the Mother Confessor and the Wizard to protect the new Seeker?"

At this, she smiled. "Not at all."

Leo's shoulders dropped a bit. "You mean that time you saved my life, that wasn't because--"

"I was looking out for you? Ha!" A happy feeling sprung up in her stomach, "No. My orders are to watch out specifically for the Mother Confessor,"

"You mean you're her bodyguard? Her?" The moonlight was out now, casting a new glow over the land. Soon, they would have to settle into their hunting spot. "She doesn't seem to need the help! She the Mother Confessor, who wouldn't fear her?"

Cara had to remind herself that Leo did not know much of Kahlan at all, besides the things he'd heard of her. To him, she was almost as fascinating a subject to learn about as was learning about the Sword of Truth. To see her as an actual person rather then a rumor was something he hadn't yet accomplished. Nor had Kahlan really done anything at all to disprove the rumors. But still…

_And when you do see her, you won't believe it…_

The image of Kahlan gazing at the Sword of Truth, running her hand along it as though she was having a conversation with it, was something that Cara would never forget. Sure, she'd known about Lord Richard and Kahlan's love, but she hadn't yet its effects on them besides the occasional glance and even less occasional kiss. She'd seen them fight each other and somehow still manage to say that they 'loved' each other, but more than that and it was a mystery.

How could the Confessor let herself be taken like that? So vulnerable to something that she should be able to control with power? It made no sense.

Suddenly, Leo stopped in his tracks and crouched down. Cara came over to him silently. "hey, I think there are some boars around here," he whispered, pointing to the general direction. "You see them?"

There were dark shapes that moved slowly through the brush ahead. Cara nodded, and asked for the arrows. "I'll go downwind and find an open area. You go upwind slowly and drive them toward me,"

"Wild boars? You sure that's a good id…" Her glare was enough to silence him, for once.

"Do it."

Once she'd found the spot, a clear patch of ground, the long wait started. Eventually, after the irritating time had passed, two boars had come toward her. From their cautious gates, they knew they were being hunted. They walked slowly, their mouths open and breath haggard from recent running (Leo had chased them first, she concluded). She needed to make this quick and clean, for the last thing she wanted was two pairs of tucks charging to gore her stomach.

She pulled the arrow, taking a deep breath to open up her rib cage, and held it.

Wait, wait, wait…

Slowly, one of the boars huffed into the clearing. It looked around, it's eyes sickly large and yellow in the moonlight. The small hoofs stamped at the ground, the hairs of the boar stood on end.

_It knows its about to be killed…_Richard's voice floated in her mind. _It will die like a fighter, with respect…_

Cara pulled the string as far back as it would go. As the string reached its limit, it gave the tiniest of sounds, a small 'ting' rang out into the night like a small bell. It was enough. The boar looked right at her, frightened and ugly, the hairs on its back spiked up in anger. It screamed at her, a high pitched cry that was strange and chilling. Its hoofs dug into the soft ground and then it charged right for her.

She released.

The arrow aimed true, striking its target in the eye, and embedding itself into the brain. In midleap, the animal came crashing down to the ground in a cloud of dust. She thought she could still see the last breath leave its lungs.

_Or maybe that was his life…_

When they got back to camp, Kahlan and Zedd were asleep, the fire was out. Leo laid what they cut from the boar near the remains of the fire. It would last them a few days, so at least hunger wasn't a worry for the moment. Which was good, as there were plenty of other things to be concerned about. She looked at Leo.

He didn't notice her glance. As soon as he laid the Sword of Truth next to him, his eyes closed and he was asleep.

'_Because you care what he thinks…_' Why did he care what she thought?

Why at all?

The answer was lost to her. She crawled into the cave and laid next to Kahlan, who didn't stir at all. Kahlan's face almost looked calm. The worry never entirely left her nowadays. She hid it, very well, around Leo, but dropped it in the presence of just Zedd and even her. Even so, Cara felt no pity for the Confessor.

_That's what you get when you love…_

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTS characters

Author's note: Major headaches in trying to get this chapter up. First, FFnet has driven me insane this past two days. I can't post any new material, and I have no idea why. I found a loophole to get this chapter up, but I don't want to have to do this every time...Geez, FFnet, fix whatever's going on! Second, my spotty internet and its dumb provider. So while I had this lovely chapter done on Thursday, I couldn't post it until Saturday.

Now, onto the chapter: I am fairly happy (not elated, mind you) how this two chapters turned out. Kahlan's voice comes to me a bit easier then Cara's does, but I do enjoy writing Cara's responses more than anything. I was working more on dialogue then in previous stories, trying to get that natural tone that is so hard to achieve. In order to accomplish this, I did try not to have any romance in the story at all, other than floating thoughts the characters had. Dialogue is hard enough for me to do without adding the naunces of lovey-dovey talk, and LOTS fics are so full of bad examples that I don't want to add mine to the list.

So, hopefully next week I will have another fic up. I'm working on increasing my 1000 word daily short story to 1500 words. Again, the fic should be up on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, unless FFnet screws me up...again...


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